Rhode Island is one of the smallest electricity markets in the country, but it runs the same deregulated setup as its bigger neighbors: you're free to shop for a supplier, and almost everyone doesn't bother — for reasons that turn out to be well documented. Here's the straight answer on choice, what power actually costs, and the practical steps that matter more than picking a supplier.
The straight answer
Yes, you can choose. Rhode Island deregulated its electricity supply market, so any household can sign with a licensed competitive supplier instead of taking power from the default utility, Rhode Island Energy (formerly National Grid).
Should you? For most individual homeowners, the honest verdict is no. Green Energy Consumers Alliance, which has tracked Rhode Island's competitive supplier market since 2017, found that switching households have been overcharged a cumulative ~$62 million compared with what they'd have paid staying on the default utility service. That's not a one-time bad year — it's a running total across nearly a decade of billing data.
The one setup that has actually worked for some residents is municipal aggregation — a city or town negotiating bulk supply on residents' behalf, like Providence Community Electricity. That's a collective, opt-out program, not an individual "shop around" decision, and it has in some periods matched or slightly beaten the default rate. Individual retail contracts are where the losses concentrate.
What electricity costs in Rhode Island
Rhode Island isn't a cheap place to keep the lights on. The average residential rate reached 29.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2025 (EIA preliminary) — up 126% since 2005, and climbing at roughly 4.3% a year over the last decade.
Full Rhode Island electricity price data (1990–2025)
| Year | Rhode Island (¢/kWh) | US avg (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 9.8 | 7.8 |
| 1991 | 11.0 | 8.0 |
| 1992 | 11.2 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 11.4 | 8.3 |
| 1994 | 11.3 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 11.5 | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 11.8 | 8.4 |
| 1997 | 12.1 | 8.4 |
| 1998 | 10.9 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 10.1 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 11.3 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 12.1 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 10.2 | 8.4 |
| 2003 | 11.6 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 12.2 | 9.0 |
| 2005 | 13.0 | 9.5 |
| 2006 | 15.1 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | 14.1 | 10.7 |
| 2008 | 17.5 | 11.3 |
| 2009 | 15.6 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 15.9 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 14.3 | 11.7 |
| 2012 | 14.4 | 11.9 |
| 2013 | 15.2 | 12.1 |
| 2014 | 17.2 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 19.3 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 18.6 | 12.6 |
| 2017 | 18.3 | 12.9 |
| 2018 | 20.6 | 12.9 |
| 2019 | 21.7 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 22.0 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 22.3 | 13.7 |
| 2022 | 23.2 | 15.0 |
| 2023 | 27.0 | 16.0 |
| 2024 | 28.7 | 16.5 |
| 2025 * | 29.5 | 17.3 |
Source: US EIA, average residential retail electricity price. Values in cents per kWh. * 2025 is preliminary.
That 126% increase over two decades isn't a supplier problem — it tracks regional wholesale power costs, transmission upgrades, and delivery charges that show up on every bill regardless of who sells you the electrons. No competitive contract, and no switch back to the utility, undoes that trend. The only two levers a homeowner actually controls are how much power the home uses and, increasingly in this state, whether some of it comes from a rooftop solar system instead of the grid.
How the market actually works
Your bill has two separate halves. Delivery — poles, wires, meters, storm response — stays with Rhode Island Energy no matter what. Only the supply half, the electricity itself, is open to competition.
If you never choose a supplier, you're on Last Resort Service (LRS), the default. It is deliberately not a markup product: Rhode Island Energy runs quarterly wholesale competitive solicitations (January, April, July, October), where suppliers bid a fixed $/MWh, and the utility passes through that contract cost plus admin costs, true-up reconciliation, and Renewable Energy Standard/REC compliance costs — with no profit margin added. Residential LRS rates reset twice a year, April 1 and October 1, under RIPUC-approved dockets (for example, Docket 26-03-EL-LRS set the April 1, 2026 rate).
The official shopping tool is EmpowerRI, run by the RI Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (DPUC). Its rate card comparison lists licensed competitive suppliers' current price and contract terms side by side against the current Last Resort Service rate, for both residential and business accounts. DPUC also staffs the program directly at DPUC.EmpowerRI@dpuc.ri.gov or 401-780-2133 if you have questions before signing anything.
Check your town first. Providence and a handful of other Rhode Island municipalities run community electricity aggregation programs that negotiate bulk supply for residents automatically, with an opt-out. If your address is covered, that's the version of "choice" most likely to help — check before you take a call from an individual supplier.
The traps to watch for
Rhode Island Energy and state regulators have warned specifically about sales tactics used to sign residents up for competitive contracts:
- Utility impersonation. Door-to-door and phone reps sometimes imply they represent Rhode Island Energy directly, or that they're calling on behalf of a town's official aggregation program, when they don't.
- Teaser rates. An introductory price undercuts Last Resort Service for a few months, then resets to a higher fixed or variable rate once the contract term is up — exactly the mechanism behind the ~$62 million in documented overcharges.
- Pressure for your account number. That's all a rep needs to switch your supplier. Legitimate offers don't require an on-the-spot decision or your account number at the door.
Never authorize a switch at the door or over an unsolicited call. Verify any supplier is on the RIPUC/Rhode Island Energy authorized list before giving out account information. Report suspected impersonation or scams to the RI Attorney General, local police, and the FTC.
The practical checklist
- Check whether your town runs a community electricity aggregation — Providence's program is the clearest local example of the collective approach that has beaten individual shopping.
- Compare on EmpowerRI, not a phone pitch. Use the rate card tool against the current Last Resort Service rate before considering any offer.
- Remember LRS resets twice a year (April 1 and October 1) — a teaser rate that beats today's LRS price may not beat the next reset.
- Read the full contract term and post-intro price, not just the headline rate, before signing anything.
- Confirm the supplier is licensed before giving out your account number, and never do so for a door-to-door or unsolicited-call request.
- If in doubt, do nothing. Staying on Last Resort Service — a cost-only pass-through with no margin — has been the financially safer default for most Rhode Island households.
- Reduce usage where it counts: your home's electrical system and major appliances drive the kWh total that any rate gets multiplied against.
Sources
- EmpowerRI — the DPUC's official supplier comparison tool.
- EmpowerRI rate card — direct rate comparison against Last Resort Service.
- RIPUC — Rhode Island Energy Last Resort Service.
- RIPUC Docket 26-03-EL-LRS — April 1, 2026 Last Resort Service rates.
- Green Energy Consumers Alliance — cumulative switcher overcharge tracking since 2017.
- WPRI — Rhode Island Energy scam warnings.
- Providence Community Electricity — municipal aggregation program.
- RIPUC — competitive energy suppliers Q&A and updates.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — Rhode Island average residential rate (29.5¢/kWh, 2025 preliminary) and historical price series.